And lo, it came to pass that the fallen prophet Apple did pull its head out of its proverbial, and welcomed the newborn saviour Spotify into the hallowed halls of the App Store. And there was jubilation, and dancing in the tweet, and great rejoicing.

Yea, just when you thought Apple had completely blown its halo over assorted wrong-headed App Store approval process shenanigans, the company has clawed back a whole heap of faith from true believers by giving its blessing to the Spotify iPhone app. The app will be free and will allow users who pay for Spotify Premium -- there's no ad-supported version -- to stream music to their iPhone. The app will then -- and this is the bit that blows our minds -- cache your playlisted songs for offline tuneage.

Spotify has also demoed an Android app, and although there's no word on release dates, Spotify told us it's "coming along well".

For once, Apple probably had a legitimate reason to cast down the app because of the challenge to iTunes, but common sense has prevailed. The app hasn't ascended to the iTunes store yet, but when it does we wager it'll be one of the fastest-selling apps yet. We'll certainly be getting it. Hallelujah!

About the author

Rich Trenholm is a senior editor at CNET where he covers everything from phones to bionic implants. Based in London since 2007, he has travelled the world seeking out the latest and best consumer technology for your enjoyment.
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